How to : MMJ infused oils for cooking
- Seniors MMJ Network
- Apr 2, 2015
- 3 min read
Cooking with Medical Marijuana can be a therapeutic joy. If you enjoy time in the kitchen, you know that oils can be used in a variety of ways. Edibles are also a preferred method of medicating for many MMJ users who can't or don't want to inhale the smoke.
We covered how to make Medical Marijuana infused butter (canna-butter) in an earlier blog post, now we take a look at making infused oils for all of those recipes that don't call for butter. Oils are easy to make and, for the health conscious, lower in saturated fat than MMJ infused butter. If you are interested in making your own MMJ lotions or balms, this oil will be one of your base ingredients. We'll cover the topic of making topicals soon.
For this article, we focus on using the oil for cooking. Safety is essential and knowing the proper dose is essential. Please visit our blog post (http://goo.gl/eimLLl) to help determine the strength of your edibles. Metabolic effects are different since the Medical Marijuana in the oil directly interacts with your digestive system. Effects are generally longer, more of a body buzz, and the onset is gradual, sometimes taking an hour before the benefits are felt. Start with small portions at first.
Materials -
1- Cookie sheet
2- Crock Pot or Saucepan or Double Boiler
3- Cheese cloth
4 Strainer
5- Jars for storage
Ingredients -
1- Marijuana
(dried flower or leafs)
2- Cooking Oil
(Oils with a high fat content will be most effective in absorbing the THC. Coconut and olive oil are the most common choices. Coconut oil has a milder taste but olive oil is the staple cooking oil for most kitchens.)
Directions -
1- Decarboxylate your Marijuana. It's an easy and essential process to activate the THC, but it does make the kitchen smell a little. Learn how here - http://www.thestonerscookbook.com/how_to_decarboxylate_weed.php
or watch a video tutorial -
2- Grind your plant material into small pieces, just keep in mind that anything small enough to fit through the cheese cloth and strainer will end up in your finished product.
Saucepan -
3- Set to low and add you oil of choice
4- When heated, you should begin to get a slight smell of the oils aroma. At this point, gradually add your ground Marijuana, stirring and coating the material before adding more.
5- Stir frequently, a saucepan is most susceptible to scorching. You do not want the oil to boil or bubble, 170 is a good temp range if you are measuring.
6- After 45 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool before moving onto straining.
Crockpot -
3- Set to warm / low and add you oil of choice
4- Slowly add your ground plant material, stirring it in.
5- Stir every 20-30 minutes
6- After 2-3 hours of heating and steeping, turn off the crockpot and allow the oil to cool before moving onto straining.
Double Boiler -
3- Set to low and add you oil of choice
4- Slowly add your ground plant material, stirring it in.
5- Stir occasionally
6- After 2 hours, turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool before moving onto straining
7- Once the oil has cooled, place your cheesecloth / strainer combo over your jar and fill it up
8- Be sure to squeeze all of the oil from the Marijuana before discarding of the plant matter and the cheesecloth.
9- Your medicated oil is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Now that wasn't so hard! The hardest part might be choosing which recipe to make first. If you have a favorite, let us know and we'd be happy to highlight your cooking skills. Enjoy.
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